Tips for Functional Laundry and a Better Bath

Brad and Mary Smith share a 1970s home with their children, Bradley, 13; McKenzie, 12; Conyer, 8; and Colton, 3.

The family has lived in this home for about 10 years and now they’d like to see some changes.

For instance, the route to the family’s guest bathroom runs through the laundry room, which is awkward for visitors.

And the laundry room isn’t very functional; it’s low on storage space and Mary has to take laundry to the den to fold it on the couch.

Laundry is a constant activity in this full house, so keeping the room clean is a constant struggle, and a necessity, because guests must pass through it to go to the bathroom.

So, we’ll relocate the bathroom door, add some storage and work space to the laundry room, and update the look of both rooms with flooring, paint and molding.

Remove Existing Door

Moving a door may seem like a big job, but the Smiths have the necessary wall space to relocate it and even reuse most of the materials, including the door frame and trim.

First, we pry off molding around the bathroom door so we can remove the door jamb. We then carefully remove the frame because, otherwise, it could fall in several pieces.

We use Titebond Construction Adhesive to block up the bottom of the old doorway. Then we install a support system for a wooden, in-wall storage area and screw in drywall to cover the other side.

We later spread drywall mud over the joints to smooth everything.

Relocate Bathroom Entrance

We’re ready to relocate this bathroom entrance so we remove the molding to discover wallpaper underneath.
Then we remove drywall where the door will go and take out the stud, which we will reuse for the new entrance.

The key to installing a door unit is making sure that the jamb is perfectly plumb and flush with the walls in both rooms. Then it needs to be thoroughly secured to the framing to ensure that it won’t go anywhere.

Replace the Vanity

As we remove the old bathroom vanity, piece by piece, we’re thankful that the new one will be much simpler to handle. The new vanity has a premade top that sits in place, so we’ll just have to attach the cabinet to the wall and add the plumbing.